Direction Nationale des Archives du Mali (DNAM)

Overview

The Direction Nationale des Archives du Mali (DNAM) is the government entity responsible for Mali's archival heritage, including the collection and preservation of the country's national archives. It is headquartered in Bamako's ACI 2000/Hamdallaye area, in the same courtyard as the National Library.

History

A predecessor institution, the Archives Nationales du Mali, was created by Loi N°83-52/AN-RM of March 17, 1984. The DNAM itself was created by Ordonnance n°02-041/P-RM of March 28, 2002, under President Alpha Oumar Konaré, which repealed the 1984 law; the National Assembly confirmed the new institution later that year. The creation of the Direction Nationale coincided with the construction of a new National Archives building on Avenue de l'Union Africaine, facing the Hamadallaye cemetery, part of a broader administrative-city project in Bamako; the new building was inaugurated shortly before the end of Konaré's second presidential term. Prior to this move, Mali's national archives had been located in the Koulouba area of Bamako, near the presidential palace. Since 1992 the archives had been placed under the authority of the Primature (the Prime Minister's office) rather than the Ministry of Culture, which had overseen them previously.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The archive's holdings are organized into "old" (pre-1915), "recent" (1915-1958), and "new" (since 1958) fonds, covering categories including official acts, general correspondence, and ethnological, geographical, and historical studies. A published repertory of the archive's holdings covers records from 1855 to 1954. The 2018 Politique Nationale des Archives du Mali (PNAM), approved by decree n°0593/P-RM of July 24, 2018, sets national archival policy.

Access and Usage

The Direction Nationale des Archives is represented in each region and in the District of Bamako by a Direction régionale des Archives, and at the Cercle level by a Service local des Archives, coordinating archival policy implementation nationwide.